I make mostly one-of-a-kind wooden bowls, vases, lidded vessels and hollow forms on the lathe and/or by carving; sculptural objects by carving; and assemblages. Most of the wood I use comes locally from storm-felled or otherwise unwanted trees. Uniquely among living forms, a tree’s tissue—wood—contains a detailed record of its life, written overtly in patterns of grain, color and density, wormholes and defects; and covertly in the stresses that are revealed only as the wood changes shape in seasoning. I’m drawn to think about what patterns of grain, color and defects are inside a log and then I try to open up to the viewer what’s in there, letting the wood’s character help guide me in development of the final form. I’m inspired to make objects that allow the wood to speak its history and at the same time to be beautiful, interesting or intriguing.
